


Lars and the Star

by wordbending



Series: Her Universe [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Coming Out, Gen, Non-binary character, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 19:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17331257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordbending/pseuds/wordbending
Summary: Steven's realized she's a girl, and it's time for her to tell everyone in Beach City!The only question is: how will everyone react? And, especially, how willLarsreact? After all, Lars has never been the most supportive person, and it's not like they have more in common than Steven could ever imagine...





	Lars and the Star

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of my series Her Universe, based on [nagginggargoyle's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagginggargoyle/pseuds/nagginggargoyle) series [Equilibrium](http://https://archiveofourown.org/works/5163491/chapters/11892266), where Steven is a trans woman. In particular, this is a sequel to the titular fic [Her Universe!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6489301)

“Do you ever feel like…” Steven said, resting his head on one of the tables in the Big Donut. “You’re not what people say you are?”

“What?” said Lars, staring at Steven as he stirred his coffee.

“Like… everyone says you’re a boy, but you don’t _feel like_ a boy sometimes? You know. That kind of thing. I bet everyone thinks that kind of stuff, right?”

“Uh, _no?”_ said Lars, looking more than mildly uncomfortable. “Why the heck are you talking about this with _me?!”_

Steven raised his head from the table and slapped his hands against it. “Because everyone else is _too weird!_ I can’t talk to my Dad about this! Or Connie! Or, like, anybody!”

Steven started to cry, big, messy tears. Lars, if it was possible, looked _even more_ uncomfortable.

“L-Lars… you’re… you’re the _only one I can trust._ ”

“Sadie!” yelled Lars, getting up from the table and walking away. “Steven’s being weird again!”

Steven rested his head on the table again as Sadie shouted, “Just a minute!”

Darn it.

Nobody would ever understand him.

* * *

Steven took a deep breath. She had a long day ahead of herself - in fact, it still felt weird to think of “herself” as “herself” yet, but that _was_ what she was. And now that she had come out to Connie, it was time to let everyone in Beach City know: Steven Quartz Universe was a girl, no ifs, ands, or buts.

She decided to wear a different outfit today - a red crop-top, showing off her gem, a long blue skirt that swished when she walked, and sandals. She also but on some light makeup, some blush and lipstick, and painted her nails with stars. Finally, she put a red headband in her hair. It was all familiar, casual, but definitely said “girl.”

And, more importantly, she liked it!

She started her journey with Jamie, the delivery man, practically kicking down her front door and shouting “I’M A GIRL!” the moment he arrived with her mail. Jamie looked like he was going to jump out of his skin, but once he calmed down, he congratulated Steven and told her he was happy for her. She thanked him and started the long walk to Beach City proper.

Soon after arriving, she ran into Mayor Dewey, riding the infamous Deweymobile blaring “MAY-OR DEW-EY, MAY-OR DE-WEY” over and over on its loudspeakers. She jogged next to it, waving and shouting into the front seat, “Mayor Dewey! Mayor Dewey! I’m a girl now!”, hoping she could be heard over the loudspeakers.

Eventually, Mayor Dewey stopped the Deweymobile, and Steven repeated somewhat more quietly, “I’m a girl now!”

Mayor Dewey replied, reaching out of the Deweymobile and tousling Steven’s hair, “Good for you, Ms. Universe! Just remember to tell people to vote for me, your supportive and loving mayor!”

Steven then went off to the next stop, the Beach Citywalk Fries, where P.D. was standing with his chin in his hands, his father Mr. Fryman standing behind him, his back turned. P.D. perked up when he saw Steven approaching.

“Let me guess, fry bits?” he started to say, before his eyes widened at Steven’s increased height and, of course, new outfit. “Whoa, Steven! You look different.”

“Yep, I’m a girl now,” Steven said casually. “And yeah! Give me the bits!”

“Cool,” P.D. replied, handing Steven a small paper tray containing leftover fry bits.

“Hey, good for you, Steven!” said Mr. Fryman, turning around. “You still going by Steven?”

“Yep!” Steven grinned.

“Alright, Steven it is!” Mr. Fryman grinned back. “You’re really growing up, kiddo!”

Steven beamed as she took her fry bits. “Thanks, P.D.! Thanks, Mr. Fryman!”

Next, Steven went to Fish Stew Pizza, devouring her fry bits on the way. The Cool Kids were inside it, talking, which Steven was grateful for - it saved her a few trips!

“Buck! Jenny! Sour Cream!” she shouted as she walked into Fish Stew Pizza, waving at them.

“Whoa, hey, Steven!” Jenny replied, waving back.

“Looking _good_ , Steven,” said Sour Cream.

“I like your skirt,” said Buck. “Stylish. Special occasion?”

“No occasion,” Steven said, grinning. Then she struck a pose, putting her hands on her hips. “But I _am_ a girl!”

“Oh yeah?” said Jenny, smiling. “No fooling?”

“No fooling!”

“Good for you! I’m trans too,” said Jenny. “I can be, like, your trans older sister or something!”

“Sweet,” said Buck. “So am I. Trans, I mean.”

“I’m genderqueer,” said Sour Cream, slightly raising a hand. “So, like, I’m trans too.”

Steven stared blankly at them, feeling a little out of her depth. “Um, what’s… ‘trans’?”

Jenny laughed and Sour Cream chuckled. Jenny said, “It’s what you are, silly.”

Buck said, “Being trans means you’re not cis. You don’t like the gender _the man_ told you you were. Like, I was told I was a girl, and I was like: nah.”

Sour Cream added, “Yeah, ‘cis’ means you’re comfortable with the gender you were assigned at birth. And being ‘genderqueer’ means I’m like: gender is for the birds. I’m whatever I want to be.”

Steven nodded. She understood so far. “So you’re all trans?”

“Yeah, we all found each other because of it...” Jenny said.

“High school GSA,” explained Buck. “Gay-Straight Alliance.”

“‘Cept nobody was straight,” said Jenny. “Or cis.”

“We’re Friends 4 Lyfe, yo,” said Sour Cream, spreading out two fingers on each hand and swinging his arms towards each other.

Suddenly, a voice called out from the back - Kofi’s voice. It yelled, “You’re going to be _Banned 4 Lyfe_ if you don’t keep it down!”

“Daaaaad, you can’t ban me!” Jenny whined. “I’m your daughter!”

“Hi, Mr. Kofi!” Steven called out. “I’m a girl now! Still going by Steven!”

“Oh, good for you, Steven!” said Nanefua’s voice.

Kiki poked her head over the counter and waved. “Ooh! Congrats, Steven!”

“Congratulations,” said Kofi. “Now would you all keep it down! You’ll scare away my customers!”

“Dad, be more supportive!” yelled Jenny, stomping her foot.

“I _am_ supportive!” yelled Kofi.

Steven stared at everyone and gulped. There was a lot of people yelling… she didn’t want to be there while Jenny and her father shouted at each other. It felt awkward.

“Um! Calm down, everyone!” she said. “I’m sure Mr. Kofi’s being supportive in his own way…”

“I am just _regular_ supportive!” yelled Kofi.

“Ugh, he’s never going to stop…” said Jenny, slapping her hand over her face. “Steven, you should go so my dad calms down.”

“Alright!” Steven agreed, waving as she walked out of the building. “See you all later!”

“Later, Steven!” shouted the Cool Kids and Kiki simultaneously.

The moment Steven turned the corner from Fish Stew Pizza, though, she ran face to face into someone. It was Ronaldo, carrying his laptop and not looking where he was going. He stumbled with the laptop for a moment, nearly dropping it, then caught it.

“Hey, watch… oh, Steven,” he said, closing the laptop and putting it under his arm. “You got taller. Been trying out those growth supplements I told you about?!”

“Um…” said Steven. “No. I’m just a girl now. So I got taller!”

Ronaldo seemed surprised for a moment, because he didn’t say anything in response. He just stared at Steven, who smiled awkwardly.

Then he reached out with his free hand and clapped it onto Steven’s shoulder.

“Hey, congratulations!” he said, smiling. “I’m, uh, not going clothes shopping with you though.”

She… didn’t ask him to, she thought, confused. But it was still… weirdly mature of Ronaldo, and she was somewhat taken aback. She grinned at him anyway.

“Thanks, Ronaldo!”

Next, Steven passed by the Funland Arcade, where Mr. Smiley was passing out coupons. She waved at Mr. Smiley as she approached - Mr. Smiley, of course, grinned.

“Hey, hey, hey, Steven!” he said, putting his hands on his hips. “You’re not here to break my stuff again, are you? I don’t want to have to ban you from Funland for life _again._ ”

“Nope! No breaking, no buying,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m just here to say… I’m a girl!”

Mr. Smiley’s grin widened. “Well, hey, congratulations!” He reached over and roughly clapped Steven on the back. “What’re you going by now?”

“Still Steven!”

“That’s great! Don’t have to update my records!” he said, laughing. “Just joking! Anyway, good for you, Steven. You know, I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but my boyfriend was trans too.”

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend!” Steven gasped.

“Sure did,” Mr. Smiley said, his smile fading just a little. “Been a while since I’ve seen him though. Maybe someday.”

“Yeah! Keep your chin up!”

“You too, Steven!” Mr. Smiley said, returning to his usual cheer.

And, with that, Steven went off to the next stop - the Big Donut. She was looking forward to this one the most, because she was close to Lars and Sadie, but she was dreading this one the most too, for much the same reason.

Well, Sadie, she was sure she would be fine. Sadie was always nice to her. But she thought about when she’d tried to talk about these feelings with Lars. Lars was _…_

She shook her head, trying to dislodge that thought. Lars was nice too, in his own way. He’d probably be just as supportive as everyone else.

She arrived at the Big Donut and threw open the door. Immediately, Sadie called out, “Hi, welcome to the Big Do- Steven?!”

Lars was sleeping half-standing up, resting his head on the counter. Sadie prodded him in the side and he awoke with a start, jumping to his feet and looking around. When his eyes landed on Steven, they narrowed.

“Lars, look at Steven!” hissed Sadie. “They got… taller!”

“Oh, really?” said Lars, shrugging. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“That’s a very cute skirt, Steven!” Sadie said, apparently ignoring him. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve _ever_ seen you wear different outfits.”

“It’s, a, um…” said Steven, scratching her chin. “What did Buck call it?” She smacked her palm. “Oh, right! A special occasion!”

“Oh yeah?” said Sadie, prodding Lars again. Lars glared at her. “What’s the occasion?”

Steven struck a pose, just like the one she’d struck for the Cool Kids. “I’m a girl!”

Sadie and Lars’ eyes both widened. Then a _huge_ smile broke across Sadie’s face. She immediately started clapping, with steadily increasing volume… and then she hopped over the counter and pulled Steven into a backbreaking hug.

Steven blinked, then found she was blinking away tears, her eyes watering. She’d expected Sadie to be supportive... but not _this_ supportive.

“I’m so happy for you, Steven!” Sadie said, somehow hugging Steven even more tightly. “Thank you so much for sharing this with us!”

Then she looked towards Lars, who was still staring at them both. And beginning, Steven could see, to sweat. Sadie made a “come here” motion with her hand at him.

Very awkwardly and stiffly, Lars came around the counter and walked up next to them. He was clenching and unclenching his hands and trying what he must have thought passed for a smile.

“Come on, Lars, give Steven… wait, you’re still going by Steven, right?” she asked, breaking the hug to look at her. Steven nodded, blinking through her tears. “OK, Lars, give Steven a hug!”

“Ugh,” said Lars, his possibly fake smile turning to a grimace. “I hate hugs.”

“Just this once, OK?” Sadie asked. “Please?”

His awkward smile returned. “OK, fine, fine.”

With that, he bent his tall, lanky body down and hugged Steven. Sort of. It was weird and tense - it was like, Steven thought, that Lars didn’t even want to touch her.

“I’m happy for you,” Lars mumbled. “Can I let go now?”

“Ugh! You’re impossible,” Sadie sighed. “Yes, you can let go.”

Lars let go of the hug and stuck his hands in his pockets, walking away from the two of them. Sadie looked at Steven’s crying face and frowned - it wasn’t until then that Steven realized she had started to cry for a _different_ reason.

“I _promise,_ Lars is supportive,” Sadie said to her, and Steven nodded. “It’s like I told you on that island - Lars is just a tough nut to crack. But he’s really a nice guy deep down. _Really_ deep down.”

“OK,” Steven said, trying to smile. “Everyone else was really nice.”

Sadie smiled back. “That’s great, Steven. This is a really nice town - I’m glad you can be yourself in it. Have you told your parents?”

“I told the Gems! And Connie! And Connie’s parents!” Steven shuffled her feet. “But I haven’t told Dad…”

Sadie rubbed the back of her head. “Afraid of what he’ll say? I know what that’s like.”

Steven nodded. “Yeah. I mean, my Dad’s really nice, but...”

“It’s still scary,” Sadie sighed. “I know. When I told my mom I was bi, she _freaked._ She was, uh…” Sadie made a face. “A little _too_ supportive? She got me all these pride flags for my room and brought seven books on Loving Your Bisexual Daughter and wanted to take me to a parade in _another town…_ it was ridiculous.”

Steven giggled. “Your mom is really nice.”

Sadie grinned a huge grin. “I know, right? I’m sure your Dad will be the same way. Just… um, less intense?”

“Thanks, Sadie,” Steven said, smiling.

“No problem, Steven,” Sadie replied, then blinked as she seemed to realize something. “Gosh, you’re so tall now…”

“Isn’t it amazing?!” Steven yelled, raising her hands. “And I didn’t even have to stretch my limbs out!”

“Uh, OK,” said Sadie, raising an eyebrow. “Anyway, let me know how it goes with your dad, OK?”

“I will!” said Steven, waving as she started to walk out of the Big Donut. “Later, Sadie! Bye, Lars!”

Sadie waved back at her, smiling as Steven walked through the door. As the door closed behind her, Steven heard Sadie say something to Lars. It was impossible not to.

“What is with you?! Considering _you’re…”_

“Shh! Keep it down! Steven will hear you!” Lars hissed.

“So what if she hears me?! You should have told her!”

“What?!”

Steven decided to walk away faster, whistling to herself. Whatever Sadie and Lars were arguing about, she _definitely_ didn’t want to eavesdrop on them.

* * *

The last place Steven went was the car wash. Knowing her father, Steven thought, he’d still be sleeping in his van at this hour.

She gulped.

Sadie had said that Greg would be supportive, and Steven _knew_ her father would be supportive. It wasn’t like Greg would laugh at her or reject her, although she didn’t know which one was worse. Greg would never, in a million, billion years, do either of those things. So what was it she was afraid of...?

She didn’t know. Maybe people who told this kind of stuff to their parents just always felt this way, no matter how nice their parents were.

She knocked on the door to the van, several times. Her father didn’t answer.

“Dad?” she called out. “Daaaaad!”

Suddenly, there was a rustling noise, then a crash, from inside the van. Steven stepped away from the doors as, sure enough, her father threw them open.

“Huh? What? Huh?” he said, blinking. Then he seemed to finally notice Steven, who lifted her hand and waved her fingers at him. “Oh. Steven.” He looked up and down, then shot her a wink and a thumbs up. “Nice outfit! Great job on the makeup too!”

Steven smiled. “Thanks, Dad.” She gulped, her smile becoming a frown. “We need to talk.”

Her father’s smile didn’t fade, but it got a little softer, a little warmer.

“Sure, kiddo,” he said, patting the space next to him. Steven climbed up next to him - she couldn’t help but notice she was almost as tall as her father now. It felt strange. “What’s up?”

“I’ve, um…” Steven winced. “I don’t know how to say this…”

“Take your time,” her father reassured her. He was so kind, Steven thought. He wasn’t pressuring her to say anything at all, wasn’t even making suggestions about what she wanted to say. That just made things harder for her.

“I’m… I…” Steven dared herself to look at her father, who only continued smiling softly. Her own expression was serious, firm. “I’m not a boy. I’m a girl. I’m...” She thought of the word that the Cool Kids had used. “Trans.”

Greg blinked, as if processing that. “So I have a daughter?”

Steven nodded. “Yeah. I guess so.”

And then Greg started to cry. Steven immediately became alarmed - she’d practically never seen Greg cry before. Had she said something wrong…?

“I have a daughter!” he wailed, suddenly launching forward and pulling Steven into a crushing hug. Steven blinked, then began to cry herself, reaching up and hugging her father back. She patted her father on the back, feeling his tears soak her crop top, and tried not to start blubbering herself. “I’m so… I’m so happy!”

They stayed like that, hugging and crying, for a minute, before Greg finally let go of his daughter. He reached up and wiped his eyes - Steven reached up and wiped hers.

“I need… I need a tissue,” said Greg, reaching behind himself and grabbing a convenient box full of them. He blew his nose and then handed Steven the box - Steven gratefully took it and wiped the tears from her eyes and the snot from her face.

“I mean, not to sound blaise about it or anything,” Greg continued, after taking another tissue and blowing his nose _again._ “But I… I kind of wanted a girl.” Quickly, he added, “Not… not that it matters! You know!”

He sighed. “I mean, you never know what your kid’s going to be. I accepted you… for you. And I still do, Ste… er, wait. What are you going by now?”

“Still Steven!” Steven said cheerfully. “It’s what Mom named me, and I like it.”

Greg laughed. “You know, funny thing. If you were a girl… I mean, if you were _born_ a girl… I mean, uh, you know what I mean…”

Steven nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”

“Anyway, Rose wanted to name you Nora. I loved that name. I thought it was beautiful. We even recorded a tape before your birth, in case you were a Nora.”

Steven rolled the name around in her head. _Nora…_ it _was_ a beautiful name. And that’s what her mother had wanted for her, to be called Nora.

She said it out loud, to try how it felt on her tongue. “Nora…”

“It’s up to you if you want that name, or something else completely,” Greg said. “You can be Nora if you want. You can be Steven if you want. You can even change your name. Hey, I did!”

She shook her head. “No, I like Steven! It’s like I told Connie - just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I can’t be a Steven.”

Greg reached out and tousled Steven’s hair, making Steven giggle. “Attagirl. Steven it is.”

For a few moments, they sat there on the edge of the van, staring out into the bright afternoon sky.

“You told anyone else?” asked Greg. “Besides Connie, I mean.”

“I told the whole town,” Steven said simply.

“Even Mayor Dewey? Before me?!” Greg laughed. “Wow… should I be offended or what?”

Quickly, Steven said, “No! No, I mean… I, uh…” Steven slapped her palm over her face. “Oh, geez…”

“Aww, don’t worry about it, sweetheart,” Greg said. “It’s always hard to tell your folks about this stuff.”

Steven frowned up at him. “Did you… did you ever tell _your_ parents about… about this stuff?”

Greg cringed. “Uh, no. No, I didn’t. I never got along with my parents. Or my brother. Or, um, anyone in my family. They were mad enough at me calling myself ‘Mr. Universe’ and trying to start a band. I can’t imagine how mad they’d be if they found out I was pansexual. Or that I literally married a superpowered alien.” He reached out and fistbumped Steven’s shoulder. “But who cares about that? Everyone accepted you for who _you_ are, right? Because if they didn’t, your old man’s got some butts to kick.”

“Everyone was really nice!” Steven said happily, grinning. “Well, almost everyone.”

“Hmm?”

“Lars was… weird about it. I don’t know why.”

“That’s that lanky kid who works at the Big Donut, right?”

Steven nodded. “Yeah, that’s him.”

“Well,” Greg said, giving Steven’s shoulder a pat and smiling. “I’m sure he’ll come around.”

“You think so?” Steven said.

“I _know_ so. Or, like I said: butts. Kicked.”

Steven giggled. She was so grateful to have such a loving, supportive father. She couldn’t have asked for a better gift in all the world.

So she reached out and gave her father another hug. Greg blinked, surprised, but then he hugged her back.

“Thanks, Dad.”

Greg broke away from the hug just long enough to kiss Steven on the forehead. Steven beamed. “Anytime, Steven.”

* * *

Many months later...

Steven still hadn’t gotten Lars to really accept her. Lars was always incredibly awkward around her - he referred to her with the right pronouns and everything, sure, but he was weirdly tense and nervous. More than Lars usually was, even.

She thought about Lars as she rolled around in bed one night, unable to sleep.

“Lars…” she grunted.

“Lars? You don't need to be such a jerk all the time,” she said, imagining herself floating in a black void. For some reason, she also imagined Lars was there, floating as well.

She realized she was slowly getting closer and closer to Lars. And now she was _quickly_ getting closer and closer to Lars.

“I wish I could just show youuuuuu...” she said as Lars became larger and larger and _larger_ in her vision, dwarfing everything. If this kept up, she was going to collide with him! “AHHHH!”

She suddenly woke up. There was a magazine over her face, which was weird. It was a _girly magazine,_ which was even weirder. And she most definitely wasn’t in her house anymore.

“W-whoooooa! W-wait a minute! This isn’t the Temple!” She reached out and grabbed at her throat. “This isn’t my _voice!”_

“I’m Lars?!” she said. She stood up, turned to look over her shoulder, and… stared at Lars’ bare back, reflected in the mirror.

And his butt.

She quickly scooted out of the mirror’s reflection, covering herself. “ _Whoa-ho-ho! I’m naked!”_

But... she couldn’t help but notice something was… particularly different about his body than hers. As much as she immediately wanted to protect his privacy, there was something odd, something she couldn’t quite place right away.

 _Oh,_ she thought when she realized what it was. _Oh!_

She thought back to when she’d talked to Dr. Maheswaran about hormones. She’d said that Steven had been “assigned male at birth,” meaning when she was born, doctors had said she was a boy, even though she had learned she really wasn’t. Or, at least, she wasn’t _entirely._ And it was all because of, well, the parts she was born with.

She thought back to Buck too, Buck saying, “I was told I was a girl, and I was like: nah.”

Lars… was the same.

That made sense. Now she suddenly understood what Sadie had meant when she’d said, months ago, that Lars should have “said something” to Steven. They weren’t the same gender, of course, but... they _were_ both trans.

And now… she started to panic as she realized that now she had found that out! Without Lars’ consent!

This was awful - it wasn’t like she’d ever _meant_ for this to happen, but he’d be so upset if he knew!

Even if this _was_ extremely weird, because how had she taken over Lars’ body in the first place? This wasn’t a dream. This was too real to be a dream. She was really in Lars’ body.

This was _messed up._

She tried to think it over calmly… even as she sat, curled up into a ball, in a corner. “I must have jumped into Lars’ mind!” She looked around herself… better put on some clothes, right away. She doesn’t want to see Lars naked any more than she has to - for his sake as much as hers. She grabs a pair of pants from off a tall shelf and a red shirt from off the floor. “I guess, while I’m in here, I better do as best I can to respect Lars’ body… _and_ his privacy.”

Once she’s dressed, she heads downstairs, hoping desperately nobody will see her before she figures out how to get out of this situation. Or, er, that nobody will see Lars. Or whatever.

But she hears voices, voices she hasn’t heard before. She looks and sees two unfamiliar people, a short man and a tall woman. Those must be Lars’ parents.

Well, she thinks, she can hardly leave without saying anything to Lars’ parents. Right? That’d just be rude. Of her. Or Lars. She’s not sure.

“Uh, hi there!” she says, crossing her arms behind her back.

“Oh, there’s our boy!” says Lars’ father. _Boy,_ right, Steven thinks. Better act… boy-like. What does that even mean? It’s not like she’s ever acted particularly ‘boy-like.’ “How are you feeling?”

Steven scrunches into a chair, her legs splayed apart and her knees sticking up at odd angles. Well, this is pretty boy-like, isn’t it? It’s pretty _Lars-_ like, right?

“Uh…” Steven says, trying to focus. Her voice sounds so _weird._ “Taller?”

Her… _Lars’_ mother spins around the table, presenting a delicious-looking breakfast of eggs and jam on toast, with a cup of milk. “Here you go! Oh, it’s good to see you this morning…”

She _is_ hungry, she thinks, but before she can even think of eating, Lars’ mother grabs her chin and lifts it up into the air, so that she’s staring up into Lars’ mother’s face.

“...Laramie!”

Steven nearly laughs. _Laramie?_ She blurts out, without thinking about it, “Who’s _Laramie_?”

Lars’ mother looks nothing less than horrified. “I mean!” she says quickly, smiling awkwardly, “ _Lars.”_

And Steven realizes, as Lars’ mother takes her seat at the table, that it’s not so funny after all.

Maybe, she thinks, she should be a little kinder to Lars from now on. A little more understanding, a little more sympathetic. Maybe he _isn’t_ just being a jerk for no reason.

Maybe, she thinks, as she smiles awkwardly in Lars’ body to Lars’ well-meaning parents, things are harder for Lars than she thought.

* * *

“Come on!” she yells, still in Lars’ body, as she starts slapping Steven… or, er, herself? This is the weirdest day of her very weird life. “ _Wake up!”_

And it… works? She blinks, the world coming into focus, as she sees… Lars, looking very dazed and confused, and… drooling. She’s in her own body again, and Lars is in his own body again, and Lars’ parents and the Cool Kids are there, and _oh no Lars is going to be so angry._

“How did I get here?!” Lars demands, once he wakes up. “What are all you doing here?!”

“Lars, don’t get mad…” Sadie says, raising her hands and speaking very gently. Steven stares at the person whose body she was just controlling and braces for impact. “But Steven didn’t really mean to…”

Lars turns around to look at Steven so fast his head is practically on a swivel. _“You… what did you_ do?!”

Just when it looks like Lars is going to literally murder her, the Cool Kids march in between them. Steven breathes a sigh of relief, but it isn’t going to be easier to explain it, so she just says the truth: “I spent the day… with my mind… in your body.”

Lars makes a strangled, horrified noise, and looks down at his body. It doesn’t take a genius, Steven knows, to know what he’s thinking.

After a moment, Lars manages to speak again. “I was acting weird all day and you all just liked it?!”

“Please don’t make a scene, Laramie,” says Lars’ father.

Steven cringes. Lars takes a deep breath, brushes back his hair, and then lets out a loud, loud scream.

* * *

The next day, Steven - in a much more casual outfit, her usual T-shirt and shorts, heads to the Big Donut. She has to apologize, she knows it - even though she doesn’t really know _how,_ with the situation as weird as it is. But an apology is definitely called for.

When she enters, Lars is laying across the counter, draped over the side. That’s… not a good sign, Steven thinks.

“Hey, um, Lars,” she says. “I’m really, really sorry about yesterday.” She takes a card out, with a koala and a sloth saying ‘HANG IN THERE!’ “I got you a card! It has a koala… _and_ a sloth!”

Lars takes it… and rips it in half without even looking at it. Which is a shame, Steven thinks, because that means he can’t see that she wrote “Sorry about outing you as a trans person without your consent!” inside it.

...Maybe it’s better that he didn’t see that.

“I’m… I’m sorry I found out this way,” she says, as apologetically as she can.

“About what?” Lars mumbles, and then he says, _“Oh.”_

“...Yeah,” Steven says, cringing.

“Well, don’t think it changes anything between us,” Lars grumbles. “Just because we’re both trans. You got it?”

Steven nods. “OK.”

“And don’t you _dare_ tell anyone. You might want to shout out you’re a girl from the rooftops or whatever, but my parents… and Sadie… they’re the only one who know this about me, OK? I want to keep it that way.”

Steven swallows. “Right. Of course. I won’t tell anybody.”

“Good.” Lars sighs. “Did you do anything _else_ embarrassing with my body?”

“I might have… said some stuff to Sadie.”

“With Sadie?!” Lars exclaims, raising his head from the counter. “Ugh… what did you say to her?”

“I said…”

At that moment, the bell to the front door rings, and Sadie enters.

“We’ll talk later,” hisses Lars.

“Oh, hey, Steven!” says Sadie. “How’s being a girl going?”

“Great!” exclaims Steven. “I, um, super love it!”

“Hey!” interrupts Lars, pushing past Steven and knocking into her arm. Steven winces and rubs it - _he’s really mad at me, huh?_ “Sadie!”

“...Weird day yesterday, huh?” she says with a soft chuckle.

“Ugh,” Lars says. “Every day in Beach City is weird. That’s why I hate it here.”

“It’s good to see the real you,” says Sadie, smiling.

“Yeah?” says Lars, sounding both surprised and happy at once.

From where she’s standing, Steven smiles at them. Lars might be mad at her for taking over his body, she thinks, but… at least Lars has something, someone, who supports him no matter what. Who knows the “real him,” who he trusts, who doesn’t call him “Laramie.” He deserves that.

And, maybe, someday, he’ll trust her to be that person for him too.

* * *

Many, _many_ months later, a lot had changed.

Bismuth had come and gone - rather than be bubbled, Steven had refused to fight her, and Bismuth had gone off to live by herself in her volcanic armory. Steven had gone to Homeworld - more than once. Lars had literally died and come back to life, and now he was a starship captain, stealing ships and blasting away at Homeworld’s military with the help of his crew, the Off Colors.

And Steven was… still Steven, very much a girl but also now face-to-face with the reality of her mother’s former life. It was a lot to take in, so much so that her transition was one of the last things on her mind. It felt like such a small thing compared to all the _everything_ of the rest of her life.

So, when she went to deliver Lars a sandwich and a refill of his hormones (by travelling through his hair, sticking halfway out of his coif), the last thing she was expecting was for _him_ to bring it up.

“Hey, Steven,” he said, just before she dived back into his hair to go home. “Come here. I want to talk. And… _not_ while you’re inside my head.”

“Roger dodger!” said Steven, hopping out of Lars’ hair and landing on the floor of the spaceship. She turned around to look up at him. “What’s up, Lars?”

He looked back and forth, as if to make sure nobody was listening somehow. “How’s your… uh, your transition. How’s it going?”

Steven tilted her head. “But Lars, you never want to talk about this stuff…”

“Yeah, I know, it’s weird,” Lars scoffed. “Especially since I’m trans too. As you know. I _still_ don’t appreciate the weird way you found out about that.” A small smile crossed his face. “But… I want to make sure you’re doing OK, OK?”

Steven smiled back. “It’s going great! I’ve been taking my hormones twice a day, every day, like Dr. Maheshwaran prescribed!”

“And your estrogen levels, they’re, you know, normal?”

Steven nodded. “Yeah! It’s great! I don’t have to shave as often!” She looked back and forth, just like Lars had before, and for the same reason - to make sure nobody was listening. She whispered, “And my… you know, my _chest..._ it’s getting bigger too.”

“TMI, Steven,” Lars replied, but he was smiling.

Steven shuffled her feet, but she smiled too. “Sorry.”

“Anyway, I’m happy for you. I’m glad you’re being your true self… you deserve to be happy, Steven.”

“Aww, Lars, that’s really sweet!” Steven replied, grinning. “Um, how is _your_ transition going?”

Lars shrugged. “Eh, same old, same old.” He grinned. “Maybe if I get rich from being a badass space pirate, I can finally afford surgery.”

“Oh, I told you, you can just take my Dad’s money! He won’t mind.”

Lars frowned. “I don’t want to take your Dad’s money.”

“Why not?! He’s, like, a billionaire! Gosh, Lars, you’re so prideful.”

Lars chuckled. “Hey, I’m a zombie pirate in space. I have a right to be a _little_ proud.”

Steven considered this. “Good point!”

Suddenly, Lars’ expression changed. He looked serious. Steven’s smile faded as well.

“What’s wrong?” Steven asked.

“Nothing,” Lars said, but Steven could tell he was tense. “I just… wanted to say something else.”

Steven remembered what her Dad had said to her, when she’d come out to him. “Take your time.”

“Come here,” he said, motioning towards himself. Without a second thought, Steven walked up to the seat he was on - as soon as she was close enough to him, Lars wrapped her in a tight hug, squeezing her to his chest.

Steven didn’t know how to react. “W-whoa! Lars?”

“I just wanted to say…” Lars said, his arms shaking. “I’m really, really sorry. We’re both trans… I should have been more supportive of you. I shouldn’t have, you know, tried to keep my identity a secret and… stuff.”

Steven reached out and hugged him back, resting her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him and patting him on the back.

The Rutile twins and Rhodonite _aww_ ed.

“It’s OK. I understand,” she said. “You wanted your privacy, right? It’s no big deal.”

“It _is_ a big deal,” Lars continued. “I was a… a _jerk,_ like… like _always,_ and…”

Lars was shaking violently now. Steven continued to pat his back, hoping he would calm down, and he let out a deep sigh.

“Sorry,” he said, leaning back from the hug and wiping a tear from his eye. “Got a little worked up there. What I’m trying to say is just… I’m sorry. I should have been better.”

Steven smiled at him, taking a step back to give him room to breathe. “Thanks, Lars. That means a lot to me.”

“Aww!” shouted Padparadscha. “Lars and Steven are going to have a bonding moment!”

Lars snickered. “Thanks, Padparadscha.”

Steven grinned. “She’s right, though! We totally did just have a bonding moment!”

Lars’ snickering turned into outright guffaws. “I guess we did! Well, I’m happy for that, Steven.” He raised a hand to his mouth as he coughed, trying to keep himself from laughing. “Now that’s all, crewmate Steven. You get back home and never, ever stop being yourself… and that’s an order.”

Steven saluted. “Roger, captain Lars!”

And with a hop, skip, and a jump, she went back through Lars’ hair and returned to Earth.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [Kira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiraYoshikage</a) and Ivy for betaing this fic for me!


End file.
